Thursday, July 31, 2008

These days I feel so happy, so blessed, and so very grateful to be living the life I live. Is my life perfect? Uhhhh, no. And what does that really mean anyway? Since my return from Maya Tulum everything is just jiving really well in an interesting and different sorta way. You see, now more so than every before I believe in the good of myself, the good of others.

I'm in this place with my personal yoga practice that just makes me melt every time I step on my yoga mat. I'm once again amazed at the power of my body, the power of my breath, the power of my mind....the power of this awesome practice called yoga. It feels really freakin' good. :-)

And let me just say that I appreciate you taking the time to fill out the survey for Barefoot Works and I am completely blown away by all the kind things you have to say about the studio, the teachers, and myself. I actually called my yogini gal pal up yesterday to read her a couple of comments. My reaction was, "Shelli, they really get it. AND they love coming to the studio. It feels like a second home to them! Can you believe that?" And she says, "yes, of course." I find myself still working on that whole bit about being able to accept compliments. It's easy for me to make light of it, or just brush it off.

So thank you. And you. And you for being so open to my studio and my teachings.Thank you for being so easy to teach, to share with, and to like.I'm honored that this "place" feels like a second home to you.Thank you for sharing and speaking your love of Barefoot Works.Thank you for allowing me to share what I love.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Barefoot Works has been open for almost two years now! We are simply thrilled that you choose to visit and make us your yoga home! We want to check in with you, our students to learn what your experience has been and get some feedback. Your feedback, whether positive or negative, is such an important part of our journey. It is critical in helping us evolve and grow.

As many of you know, we have completed our first yoga teacher training. We're excited about the possibility of adding new yoga classes. So, please share as much as you can. Please be as specific as you can, so that we may have the greatest benefit of your thoughts.

Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts, your energy and your kindness with us as we continue to learn and grow.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Still a smile on my face.Still a twinkle in my eye.My original plan (pre Maya Tulum)was to schedule a retreat to Costa Rica for next summer.Ha! I knew as our van pulled out of Maya Tulum that I'd be back next summer.It only took me four days to arrange the retreat for next summer. I've led this retreat at Maya Tulum for two summers now and it keeps getting better. I figure there's no reason to mess a perfect thing up.A week after being back, Tracy and I talked for two hours about the magic of Maya Tulum.It does not get any better than this place.

Forture Magazine has ranked Maya Tulum as the #1 barefoot resort. Very fitting for the gal who owns a yoga studio called Barefoot Works.

Spa Magazine says, "Maya Tulum Resort is a seaside Mexican Caribbean retreat center that offers: tranquil times, awe-inspiring scenery, and an opportunity to reconnect with yourself. Prepare to go barefoot, sleep under a thatch roof cabana, and leave fully renewed! Maya Tulum Resort was voted by USA Today, Sports Illustrated, and New York Times as one the top ten places to balance the body and soul. The resort was also recognized by Fortune Magazine as the #1 barefoot resort."

Seane Corn (my yogini crush) says that Maya Tulum is one of her fave places to teach. "The yoga room alone makes the hour and a half shuttle from Cancun worthwhile. It’s round, with a roof that goes straight up to the sky,” she says.

If you want to go along on this transformative trip next summer, please set an intention and start stashing some extra cash in your sock drawer. :-)

You'll practice yoga and pranayama. You'll explore meditations that will open your heart and your mind.You'll salute the sun as it rises. And walk on the beach as the sun sets.You'll enjoy fresh, healthy and delicious foods.You'll forge new friendships.You'll frolick in the turquoise water.You'll go barefoot for a week. And walk on the softest sand.You'll enjoy massage sessions that will leave you feeling like putty and quite likely, change your life.You'll see the most beautiful sights and hear the sweetest sounds.You'll be free. Free from daily stresses. Free to do as you please.You'll do more yoga. :-)You'll be in paradise.Your heart will be happy.

Paradise awaits you next summer..... July 11 - 18, 2009.And the prices are actually cheaper than this year's trip. Imagine that! An ocean view room for only $1395!Call today and put down your $300 deposit. That's all it takes! To register call 1-888-515-4580. And of course call me at 859.433.7787 or email barefootworks@hotmail.com with any questions.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

This is my special place.One of my happiest places.In fact, I'd go out on a limb and say that Maya Tulum and my yoga room are the two places I enjoy my yoga practice most of all.

My room room is small. Teeny Tiny. And I love that I feel a bit enclosed in it. Like big comforting arms, it wraps me up and engulfs me and my little magic mat. I can almost touch the ceiling when I stretch my arms overhead in starting my sun salutations. The windows are almost as tall as I am and just beyond the window is a big old tree that I can reach out and touch the green leaves. The smallness of the room and the big tree almost make me feel like I'm practicing in a tree house. And I love the thought of that.

My yoga room is the only room in the house that is sparse in decoration and "things" in general. Nothing hanging on the walls. The only piece of furniture is a small battered table that holds items dear to me. Rocks with the words "peace" and "joy", incense, a lotus candle, and seashell. A grasshopper made with a palm leaf on the beach of Tulum by a security guard. The walls are painted a soft shade of green. In fact it's one of the shades at the studio. Unlike other areas, there are few books and papers scattered about. As an open self help junkie, I do have the book "You Can Heal Your Life" and a journal that I record affirmations. To a stranger it might feel less than lived in. But that couldn't be further from the truth.

It's in this room, this space that I set my personal intentions.I come here when I'm feeling hopeful and when I'm feeling lost.I come here when I'm feeling joyous and when I'm feeling sadness.My hopes and dreams and contained within these four walls.

I come here to sweat (as you can see in the photo ;-).I come here to relax.I come here to meditate.I come here to breathe.I simply come here just to be.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

"There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled.There is a void in your soul, ready to be filled.You feel it, don't you?"-Rumi

It's been less than twenty four hours since I've returned from Maya Tulum. I'm not completely sure that my feet are grounded here in Kentucky just yet. That's a work in progress at the moment! My beach walks have returned to cemetery walks and my morning yoga practices were in my yoga room and the studio, not the sandy beach of Tulum. Yet I feel so happy and so very fortunate that for two years in a row I've gotten to experience paradise at the edge of the sea at a cozy little resort called Maya Tulum.

Maya Tulum is so magical in so many different ways. It's easy there. It's simple. You get up, watch the sun rise, enjoy a cup of coffee, teach/practice yoga, have breakfast, enjoy the beach, read, have a spa treatment, eat lunch, teach/practice yoga, take a walk, eat dinner, journal, go to bed. Get up the next morning and repeat. I thought it was pretty miraculous that in the nine days there, I only left the resort once to walk five minutes up the road. That was it. I had no desire to leave again. I met another yoga teacher who was at Maya Tulum for the fourth time and she said she's NEVER left the resort any of the times she has been there. And she was there for two and a half weeks this time. People walk around blissed out at this place.

The people at Maya Tulum make this resort the special place that it is. This is the single best thing about the resort. Yes the beach is heavenly, the food is divine, and the cabanas are so sweet. But they don't hold a candle to the people that work here day in and day out. They know your name, your cabana, your preferred spa treatment, and your drink of choice. Everyone greets you with a smile and kind words. They go the extra mile to take care of you. They make you laugh. They touch your heart with their kind ways.

Nicole and Ileana took care of all of our yoga needs and made sure that our group was well taken care of. America helped us make some of the most important decisions, which spa services to partake in. Lisbeth rallied up more people for the temazcal (mayan sweat lodge) when we feared it might be canceled. Eduardo, Cecelio and Eli saw to it that we were well fed, well hydrated and happy with our food. Like last year Fabian (therapist/shaman healer) amazed me by his ways of knowing my story, just by looking into my eyes. He has taught me about what it means to live the life of yogi without making any effort on his part. His kind and compassionate ways are truly inspiring. And he has new fans in Jeanne and Tracy. Yes our little group kept him busy with holistic massages!

Our group of yoga gals was perfect. A small, but very mighty group. Together we laughed, cried, sweated, mediated, reflected, rallied, visualized, crafted, walked, sun bathed, floated, and flipped. We learned each others strengths and weaknesses. We confirmed intentions and encouraged one another to do better to be better. To live with an open heart and a free mind. To operate from a place of joy and bliss. To focus on abundance and gratitude. To nurture our mind, body and spirit. Yes,it was an amazing week, with amazing people of all sorts.

In short, everyone needs to experience this place called Maya Tulum. I promise you'll walk away with a renewed sense of joy, bliss and peace. This place and these people will light a candle in your heart. This place and these people will fill a void in your soul. I'm sure of it.

We're back from our heavenly retreat to Maya Tulum. The words are not coming to me just yet, so I'm gonna sit on this just a bit longer. Drink it all in. Savor it. I always say to myself "yoga is abiding in our own true nature which is joy." Never before have the words rang so true to me.

In the meantime enjoy a couple pics and I'll be back soon with words....and a fabulous slideshow highlighting our trip.

This time tomorrow night I'll be under a blanket of stars outside my cabana listening to the waves wash upon the shore. Pen in hand, journal in lap, smile on my face writing about the lucky gal that gets to spend ten days in a little slice of heavan known as Maya Tulum

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

I had the very good fortune of spending three whole days on a big beautiful boat at Dale Hollow. The weekend was full of fireworks, yummy food (which included homemade ice cream), frolicking in the lake, and enjoying refreshing drinks with friends. Andy and I got to spend good quality time with our best buds, Liz and Tony. We caught up, laughed, danced a bit and sang a lot. Very good stuff.

Since I've been back (which hasn't been long) I'm focusing on the Tulum, Mexico retreat as I'm leaving in two more days! Yesterday was spent shopping for supplies needed for the trip. My friend was with me at Target and as I piled scissors, pretty pens, glue, color pencils, suncreen, flashlight, and more into my cart she says "If your bag gets checked, you're gonna have some explaining to do."

I did treat myself to a massage yesterday. Actually my sweet yoga trainees treated me to some massages. This was the first of four they bought for me as a gift. Then the shopping continued on to Micheals and Kmart.

Mostly, I'm feeling very happy these days. The first teacher training is finished, which I don't think I've completely processed just yet. I feel like this is such a milestone for myself, the studio, and the new teachers of course. I'm hoping the extra two days in Mexico will help me with bringing this to a close and I'll return very ready to gear up for next year. This seems most logical as I already have a few people rearing up, ready to go next time around. So if you are interested in applying for the training, my plan is to begin taking applications in August.

Much of July is being spent treating myself with some fun little trips. Like the boating, a couple extra days in Mexico and a two day trip with Andy to Asheville or Nashville, before he starts the new teaching year back again. I see the importance in taking time to care for oneself, and I fully intend to do that. And I hope that you're doing just the same. :-)

Have a happy Tuesday. Please join me at the studio today or tomorrow for a happy yoga class. Delia Rose a sweet,young and wise little gal from training will be teaching the noon class tomorrow. With a name like that how could she not be all of those?

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Sharon Tessandori

Hi, I'm Sharon welcome to the Barefoot Works blog! I'm the happy owner of Barefoot Works, a delightful yoga studio located in Lexington, KY. I blog here about our yoga happenings and life in general. Looking forward to getting to know you and hanging out on your yoga mat. Enjoy your visit - at the studio and here in blog-land.